The present invention relates to a system, method and apparatus for processing coupons and more particularly to a system, method and apparatus for facilitating the verification and settlement of coupons. The present invention relates to a booklet and a system therefor for processing information relating to discounts of items listed therein.
Coupons are used by a large number of people to obtain discounts on a variety of products, such as food items. Such coupons may be presented to a retailer by a customer at the time of sale. The retailer may send the coupons to a clearinghouse which is operated by a clearinghouse corporation where valid coupons are identified. The valid coupons are sent to the manufacturer who redeems the retailer for the discount.
Retailers are typically short-changed by accepting coupons. To explain, retailers essentially lose money on each discounted item and count on being redeemed. Unfortunately, the clearinghouse all too often mishandles the coupons which leaves the retailers unreimbursed. When it is considered that retailers accept volumes of coupons each week, it will be immediately recognized that lost income due to coupon-mishandling costs the retail industry huge sums each year.
Manufacturers often lose money when, for example, the cashier or the store submits more coupons than entitled. Sometimes this is done intentionally in order to defraud the manufacturer. Worse, by the time the manufacturer discovers the fraud the culprit has long absconded.
Consumers find coupons to be more hassle than their worth. Detached or detachable coupons are unkempt and clutters one""s pockets or pocket book. Moreover, coupons are unorganized and it is difficult to find the desired coupon when needed such as when checking out. The disorganized nature of coupons also makes it difficult to keep track of valid coupons such as coupons which have not expired.
What is needed is a system which facilitates the verification and settlement of coupons.
An object of the present invention is to provide a technique which facilitates processing of coupons for a plurality of stores.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a coupon manager system operable for use with a plurality of stores and having a central processor and a number of front ends and a back end apparatus for each store.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a coupon manager system as aforesaid wherein the central processor provides an information useable for auditing purposes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a booklet having a plurality of items with information identifiable with a single bar code.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for processing the booklet.
In accordance with the foregoing objects, there is provided a coupon manager system for processing coupons in a predetermined manner. The predetermined manner in at least one embodiment determines a redemption value of the coupons. In one aspect of the present invention, the coupon manager system includes a front end cash register at the point of sale, a back end for processing the coupons received and a central processing computer for receiving and collating the processed coupon information. The central processing computer may collate the coupon information from a plurality of retail stores and send reports to manufacturers. The central processing computer may function as an auditing system which maintains account balances of redemption values owed and paid.
The back end which may be operated independently as an apparatus includes in at least one embodiment an image scanner for imaging the coupons. A central processing unit determines the validity of the coupons based on matching coupons with transactions and/or manufacturers. In one aspect of the present invention, the back end apparatus destroys the valid coupons. The back end apparatus may include one or more bins for receiving the processed coupons including a destruction bin for receiving the destroyed coupons, a non-participating bin for receiving coupons of manufacturers not participating in the coupon manager service, an exception bin for receiving coupons of an anomalous nature such as coupons which cannot be assigned to a transaction or manufacturer and a future bin reserved for future applications.
A booklet of the present invention includes front and back covers and pages. A listing is provided which lists the product discounts. A single bar code is provided for a plurality of items to be discounted. In at least one embodiment, the listing of the booklet is an index or a table-of-contents. The index may be organized according to any number of categories including the type of product, price and manufacturer. The booklet may be color coded for ease of access. In addition, the booklet may include additional information such as coupon advertisements, sweepstakes or cash prizes. The booklet may include any type of coupon, rebate or other form of redemption including a credit which is credited to a credit account. The booklet may be incorporated in an integrated system or utilized independent of the coupon manager system such as in a non-integrated system.